Systems and devices that provide navigation guidance to a driver in a vehicle are well known. In one type of conventional system, a navigation unit is installed in the vehicle. The navigation unit typically has an interactive visual screen or buttons that allows a driver to enter a desired destination location. The navigation unit has memory or a CD drive that keeps map data and a processor that generates routes based on the map data and a desired destination. The navigation unit will calculate a route and then present navigation instructions to the driver through a user interface.
Other known systems include server-based navigation systems. A server-based navigation system has a remote server that downloads information to the vehicle through a wireless communication link. The downloaded information contains the topology or other attributes relating to a calculated route. The information downloaded from the server is also presented to the driver through a user interface.
There is a need to reduce the amount of information presented to drivers while operating a vehicle. At present, any information presented to the vehicle operator, including navigation instructions, is presented without taking into account the various demands that a driving task might be to the operator at a given moment. For example, a navigation system may display an upcoming maneuver or give a verbal description of the maneuver at the same time a driver is putting a CD into the stereo system, or while a driver is operating a power window, or while a driver is engaging in a cellular telephone call.
Human beings have a finite ability to perceive the environment, to attend to elements of the environment, to cognitively process the stimuli taken in, to draw appropriate meaning from perceptions, and to act appropriately upon those perceived meanings. Furthermore, there is a great variation within the driving population in both native and developed abilities to drive. Thus, vehicle operators are subject to confusion, distraction, and to ignorance, which is exacerbated by the barrage of stimuli they are now subjected to while operating a vehicle. Training, experience, and technology can be used to mitigate confusion, distraction, and ignorance.
Unfortunately, in the United States there is little formal or informal training in the skills involved in driving, beyond the period when people first apply for their licenses. Driver training programs have not proven to be particularly effective, nor is training continued through the driving career. In fact, in the United States, in particular, most people think of driving as a right rather than a privilege. Further, studies show that most think of themselves as good drivers and of “the other person” as the one who creates problems. Unless and until a cultural or legal change takes place that encourages drivers to improve their driving skill, it seems that technological solutions designed to minimize confusion, distraction, and ignorance have the best potential for improving the safety of the highway transportation system.
To address these and other safety concerns, an integrated safety system based on a state transition model has been proposed. The underlying concept is a “hierarchy of threat” model that steps through a series of states each one representing an assessment of the danger of an impending collision based on information from external object detectors and in-vehicle sensors. The states are “normal driving state,” “warning state,” “collision avoidable state,” “collision unavoidable state,” “post-collision state.” Sensor and data fusion algorithms combine information from the sensors and determine the degree to which the danger of collision exists. If the system detects the danger of a collision it issues warnings to the driver or, in some situations, takes control of the vehicle and initiates automatic braking, automatic lane change, or other forms of vehicle control. This system represents an attempt to bring previously unrelated sensor information into an integrated state from which useful inference about the danger of collision may be made and warnings to the driver, or actual control of the vehicle, can be used to avoid completely or mitigate the damage from a collision.
There has also been proposed a system that provides extensive monitoring of the vehicle and traffic situation in order to prioritize presentation of information to the driver. The goal of this system is to manage the stream of information to the driver while taking account of the driving task, conditions, and the physical, perceptual and cognitive capacities of the driver. The support provided is designed to improve the driver's focus and to re-focus the attention of a distracted driver as the driver undertakes navigation, maneuvering and control of the vehicle. The overall system architecture incorporates an analyst/planner that accepts inputs from sensors, includes a stored repertoire of driving situations, and records information about the driver. Additionally, the system includes a dialogue controller for managing communication with the driver. The system also monitors the driver and integrates the driver's condition into the decisions made by the warning and control system.
In the particular area of route navigation and guidance systems, none of the existing systems undertake the presentation of navigation instructions based on an urgency of the instruction and the dynamic conditions of the vehicle or driver. These systems also fail to consider whether the driver is familiar with a part of the route. For example, a selected route might start at the driver's home and take the driver to a distant location. The navigation instructions that form a part of the trip in the proximate area of the driver's house may be of little assistance because the driver is familiar with the area.
Moreover, none of the existing systems undertake the modification or modulation of navigation instructions based on the monitoring of a range of sensor data, nor do they provide for evaluation of the driver's cognitive load. Such systems additionally fail to consider the driver's activity in the cockpit that is not directly related to the driving task such as opening and closing windows, tuning the radio, etc. Thus, these systems do not provide information in synchronization with the driving task, nor do they attempt to minimize distractions that may be associated with the navigation instructions.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide an improved navigation system and method to overcome or minimize most, if not all, of the preceding problems.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.